While the cell phone reception on a deserted island would be spotty at best, (nonexistent if AT&T is your service provider) in today’s world it seems that a person can do pretty much anything on a smart phone. But with all the cell phones available right now — especially the popular smart phones — which ones are the most popular with savvy Internet users? Well, for me, it’s the BlackBerry Curve^® (in pink of course).

According to a recent eMarketer article referencing a study by Crowd Science (June 16, 2009), 30 percent of Internet users with cell phones are using smart phones — 13 percent are iPhone users, 9 percent are BlackBerry users and 18 percent are using another smart phone brand.

As a new BlackBerry user myself, I now understand why smart phones are becoming so popular among Internet and cell phone users. But I have to admit that until my recent purchase, I didn’t see what all the fuss was about over smart phones. I knew my old cell phone intimately — it did everything I needed it to. It wasn’t fancy or hi-tech, but it worked.

After a great deal of thought and indecisiveness, I gave in to this popularity contest and decided to upgrade to the BlackBerry Curve. My fears about learning a whole new phone turned out to be unfounded. The BlackBerry Curve was surprisingly easy to learn. It wasn’t long before I was utilizing every aspect of my new toy — I am able to text faster, check my e-mail and update my Facebook page all while listening to Internet radio.

Although I’ve only had my Blackberry Curve for a couple of weeks, I don’t know how I ever managed without it. This led me to think about how far cell phone technology has progressed.

Evolution of cell phones
I got my first phone seven years ago in 2002. It was a bulky Motorola and I loved it. It had a Monochrome graphic display and could do little more than send and receive calls. Then for Christmas a year later, Santa brought me a camera phone. My new camera phone was pretty exciting since this was before cameras on phones became the standard. I remember that phone well. I was 16 years old and I had to beg for it. Beg. On my knees. It was degrading. Now, the eight-year-old I babysit has his own cell phone with all the bells and whistles, and so do most of his friends. I mean, does an eight-year-old really need a cell phone?

But in hopes of not sounding too old school, I guess an eight-year-old can do just as much with a cell phone that I can do with all the new applications and other options available on most phones today. Really, there’s little you can’t do with most new cell phones.

Take the iPhone for example, it’s more than just a nifty gadget, it’s practically a mobile office. In fact, iPhones are so popular Apple Insider reports that nearly a quarter of all iPhone users switched their service provider to AT&T - the exclusive iPhone service provider (thru 2010).

One of the biggest draws to the iPhone is the downloadable applications. Bento, a popular productivity application, helps users organize client information, contacts, projects and even track billing information. BlackBerry and Verizon also offer similar downloadable applications for their phones. Recently I saw an iPhone commercial advertising its new copy/paste feature. I was intrigued by this new feature so I borrowed a friend’s iPhone to have a look. It was just as cool as the commercial made it out to be. You can actually copy a picture you see on the Internet browser and paste it into a text message or e-mail with a touch of a finger. On the other hand, my favorite feature about my BlackBerry Curve is its ability to take a picture of something and instantly load it onto the Internet so I can share it with my peeps.

Nowadays it’s hard to understand how someone can function in society without any type of cell phone. Things that seemed frivolous and unnecessary a few months ago have become an essential and important part of everyday life. People are spending countless hours talking on the phone, sending hundreds of text messages and surfing the Web. It’s gotten to the point where people can’t go anywhere without their cell phone. The evolution of cell phones has brought about a new way of life for many people, making it easier to stay connected and increase daily work productivity. And I’m all for it - my BlackBerry Curve is my new best friend.